The Schaeffler Group has re-affirmed its ambitions for growth in Eastern Europe with investments worth around 100 million euros in production equipment and a new facility at Svitavy (www.schaeffler.com).

Schaeffler COO Oliver Jung said: “With our new plant in Svitavy, Schaeffler is further strengthening its already very strong Eastern European plant network.

“With the thermal-management modules produced at Svitavy, Schaeffler is manufacturing a product that can be applied both in internal combustion engines and in mobility concepts of the future.”

The Svitavy plant has already built a workforce of around 280, and it is planned that this number will rise to 900 in the next three years.

Most of the investment has been in new machinery; this is being used both in the existing production plant in Lanškroun and the new plant in Svitavy.

Some 18.5 million euros were spent on building the new production building in Svitavy.

Schaeffler says it will be producing another 230,000 thermal-management modules for three global automobile manufacturers this year alone.